A commitment to green public procurement could lower Germany’s carbon footprint and contribute to achieving the country’s 2020 climate targets, according to a paper by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW). “Given the large volumes of government purchases [of more than 500 billion euros per year], green public procurement offers a significant potential for steering public money into climate-friendly products and services and reducing emissions,” write study authors Olga Chiappinelli and Vera Zipperer. But this would require a clear political mandate, adequate local funding, and capacity building.